On your special day
by deblond
Summary: Five times Oliver Queen didn't celebrate his birthday and one time he did .


**On your special day**

I.

Oliver is nine years old but he is not stupid. He knows why his parents aren't home with him. He knows that their jet (the one he's been in so many times) has crashed. He knows that they are dead (actually he doesn't _really _understand the mechanic of it, but he knows enough to know that he's never gonna see them again).

So, while his nanny asks him if he'd rather have pizza or a burger for dinner, Oliver thinks about his parents. He thinks about how he was supposed to go to Queen Industries with his father (something they do, _did_, every year) and then to a basketball game. Afterwards, his mother would complain about how they had spent the afternoon like the boys they were and they would all go to dinner together (Oliver's favorite, spaguetti). Then Oliver would complain, because he wouldn't want to go to bed, and his father would let him stay awake with them a little longer, despite his mother's objections ("you spoil him too much" she would say with a smile on her face).

But his parents aren't here (and they are never gonna be again), so he eats pizza, watches a movie with his nanny and goes to bed without complaining. Then he cries. He cries because he misses his parents. He cries because his father won't take him to Queen Industries never again. He cries because his mother won't try to cook spaguetti for him again. And he cries because he's starting to forget their faces, their voices, and there's not a single thing that he can do about it.

And that's how Oliver Queen, a nine year old billionaire, spends his birthday that year.

II.

He tries to ignore all the stares and whispers as he goes into the library. One would think that he would be used to being in the spotlight by now, but this time is different. This time the attention is not because they admire him or envy him. This time is because they are afraid of him and they avoid him.

It's been only a few days since the accident, since Duncan died, but for Oliver it seems like years have passed. It's like it happened to a different person yet he remembers it all very, very, clearly. He remembers himself, mocking Lex and Duncan; Lex beating Duncan like a maniac, and Duncan being hit by the car. The way he looked at them moments before, the disgust and the anger… his face is engraved in Oliver's brain. It's the image that haunts him and keeps him awake at night.

He sits down at the table farthest away from the rest of his classmates. He knows what they think of him without having to hear it. Lionel Luthor may have silenced the authorities and the press with his money but everyone at Excelsior knows more or less what happened. And they all blame him, because Lex was Duncan's friend and Oliver is just a bully, so there's really no room for questions about what _really_ happened.

Oliver knows that his friends are waiting for him. They are gonna escape through the gardens and go into the town, to drink and play pool, but he doesn't feel like it. It's not a special day for him (not anymore) and it's not like they can't go on another occasion (they've done it plenty of times before). So he just stays there, in the dusty library, isolated from everyone and staring at a book that he's not really reading.

And that's how Oliver Queen, the teenager and bully of the school, spends his birthday that year.

III.

Time doesn't mean anything when you're stranded on an island. Days, weeks, even months may have passed and Oliver has stopped counting, has stopped caring about it. He's concentrated on surviving.

He grabs his makeshift arch and wipes the sweat of his forehead. Today is hotter than most days and Oliver's starting to feel dehydrated, he knows from experience that he should go to his shelter and lay down or he's gonna pass out soon, but he's starving. It's been days since he's hunted something, he supposes that the animals are taking shelter somewhere from the heat too.

He's starting to feel lighthearted and he doesn't know if it's because of the sun or the hunger. It doesn't matter. He barely has time to leave his arch carefully on the grass (if it breaks, he's gonna have to spend days making another one) before passing out.

When he regains consciousness the sky is dark and the temperature has dropped. He practically drags himself to the shore, to freshen up and try to catch some fish. He is sick of it but he really needs to eat something and it's not like he can be picky.

And that's how Oliver Queen, a shipwrecked stranded in an island, spends his birthday that year.

IV.

He wouldn't admit it in a million years, but Oliver is a little nervous. Mercy told him yesterday over the phone that she had made reservations for two in his favorite restaurant 'cause they have something important to celebrate. Although he's not very big on celebrating birthdays, this is the first time that Oliver actually has someone to celebrate it with, so he's surprisingly looking forward to it.

Of course he's gonna play it cool, act as if it's not a big deal, but it's nice that, for once, someone has thought of him on his "special day".

He and Mercy have been _dating_ (for lack of a better term) for over six months now and though it was hard at first (mostly 'cause they were still recovering from their hideous adventure at the island) they are finally getting it right (and maybe they've been kind of distanced lately, but tonight's definitely gonna solve that).

They agreed to meet directly in the restaurant and when Oliver arrives she's not there yet. He orders a glass of wine and waits, sure that Mercy isn't gonna keep him waiting long, she may be a lot of things but she's not a late person. Sure enough she arrives five minutes later breathless.

"Sorry" she says stripping off her coat; she's wearing a very beautiful and expensive dress, a dress that Oliver somehow can't associate with the girl he met on the island "my meeting dragged out".

She's been trying to get funding for a new project to protect the environment, it's risky and new but she really believes in it. Oliver supposes he would too if she would let him get involved with it, but Tess seems adamant in doing things by herself. Sometimes Oliver wonders if she sees him as a partner or as a rival she has to outcompete.

"That's good, right?" he says making a signal to the waitress. Tess nods.

"Well" she begins once they've placed their orders "Today is a really big day and I really wanted to share it with you"

He smiles a little shyly "I wouldn't say that…"

"I finally got the endorsement for the project" she interrupts him raising her glass of wine "We still need to discuss some details but the deal is done" Then, in a very non Mercy move, she giggles (Oliver guesses that she's had a couple of glasses of wine already) and exclaims "I can't believe I actually did it! It's surreal… Oliver, are you alright?"

"Sure" Oliver smiles and tries to hide his disappointment. She hasn't remembered it. The night was about her project, not his stupid birthday. He tries to convince himself that it isn't a big deal, why would she remember the date? It's not that important. But it was nice to think that someone cared about him after all. "For your big day" he says taking a sip of his wine. She does the same and smiles to him and, for the first time, Oliver has to force himself to smile back.

They spent the rest of the night chatting (mostly about her project) and Oliver pretends that everything is fine but, when they finish dinner, he notices that the waitress has given him her phone number along with the check and, instead of throwing it away, he puts it in his pocket.

And that's how Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Industries, spends his birthday that year.

V.

He has it all ready: the dinner, the wine, the candles, the music… He knows it's a bit (a lot) cheesy and cliché but he wants the night to be perfect. It's the first time that he wants to celebrate his birthday and he wants to do it with Lois.

She's texted him that she's gonna be late 'cause she's chasing some lead so Oliver it's not worried, it's not the first time it's happened (and it probably won't be the last), and at least this time she has remembered to warn him.

Half an hour later he hears the elevator and there she is. She's smiling and clad in a trench coat and high heels.

"I forgive you for being late if you tell me that you're wearing nothing underneath these"

"Nice try, Mr. Queen" she says kissing him softly and stripping off her coat (and she's wearing a very nice dress) "but it will take you way more than that to get me naked"

"How about a romantic homemade dinner?" he replies gesturing toward the table already set for two people.

"You made it?" she asks raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Ok, I ordered it. What's the difference?"

She laughs and shakes her head "I hope for your sake that the food is edible 'cause I'm starving!"

Luckily, the food is not only edible but also delicious, as Lois immediately points out, and Oliver makes a mental note to congratulate the restaurant.

"So, not that I'm complaining or anything but… what bought this on?" she asks when they are halfway through the main dish.

"You don't know, do you?" surprisingly, that doesn't bother him. Lois is hopeless for dates (and she is a reporter so it's kind of a bid deal) and even if she wasn't, he has never told her when his birthday is. He was waiting because he had the feeling that the night will be ruined and he didn't want to build his hopes up for nothing, but it looks like it's gonna be a happy birthday for him this year, who would've guessed?

"Should I? Oh, my God it's not like our anniversary or anything, right?" now she's clearly worried.

"Oh, I see… so, you don't know when our anniversary is?" Oliver says mockingly serious. But when he realizes that she seems to be having a truly bad time, he adds "Don't worry, you haven't forgotten anything. But you're right there's a reason for all this…

But he can't finish his sentence 'cause a phone starts ringing, and not just a phone, _his phone_. The phone that he uses for all the League stuff. So, as much as Oliver wants to ignore it and continue a night that's bound to be one of the bests he's ever had, he has no other choice but answer it.

Turns out they have some kind of problem with their upcoming mission. He tries to make a credible excuse to Lois but, understandably, she gets upset that he's suddenly brushing her off and they end up fighting. When she's gone, he sighs and goes to his secret room. This better be worth it.

And that's how Oliver Queen, The Green Arrow, spends his birthday that year.

I.

Oliver walks out of the elevator loosening up his tie. He's had a never-ending day of meetings at the office and he's gonna have to go patrolling tonight so the day is far from over. He wishes that he could have a day off, just to sleep without having to worry about one thing or the other but he knows better than to hope for that.

The apartment is eerily quiet. He's not used to the silence (not that it's not welcomed) because lately it seems as if the League has taken his place as their official gathering center and it makes impossible to find peace and quiet in there.

He heads to the bathroom, ready for a hot shower before patrolling when he hears a noise from upstairs. Immediately on alert, he heads in that direction, fully prepared to kick the intruders' ass.

To say he' surprised to find Chloe in a bathrobe putting rose petals in his bed is an understatement. She's so focused on her task that he has to clear his throat to get her attention.

"Ollie! What are you doing here?" she turns around startled.

"I live here" he says "But I think the question is what are _you_ doing here?"

Chloe blushes and averts his gaze "I wanted to surprise you"

"Well, you did." He looks at his candle lit and petal full room inquiringly.

"You forgot about today, didn't you?" normally that sentence would make Oliver sweat, but Chloe seems more amused than angry at him so he thinks he's safe "Think, Ollie"

He does.

"Oh"

"Yeah. Oh"

"Well I hope you didn't get me a spoon, I'm very sensitive towards those"

"Very funny" she replies "Actually, I wanted this to be special, that's why I talked to the League so that they didn't come around here and you could have the night off. I even had some sexy lingerie that you would've loved but you just spoiled it, so…" shrugging with fake disappointment, she tries to pass by him and get out of the bedroom.

"Hey, not so fast" Oliver grabs her by the waist "I think we can still fix it. I mean, we kind of have to or it will be a waste of… petals?"

"Shut up, at least I tried" she laughs, hiding her face in his shoulder.

"Yeah" and Oliver is not joking anymore "You did"

She senses his change of mood and smiles at him fondly "Happy birthday, Ollie"

And Oliver could say a lot of things, like how much this means to him, how happy he is to celebrate his birthday with her or how much he loves her. He could say a lot, but he doesn't. Because it's not necessary.

"Thank you, Sidekick" He kisses her softly "Now go get that lingerie."

And that's how Oliver Queen celebrates his birthday that year.

* * *

This has been in my laptop forever and yesterday I finally finished it, not sure about the title tough...

I'd love to read your thoughts.

XoXo


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